Tuesday, December 28. 2010

-- Flying Swords of Dragon Inn -- After filming Flying Swords of Dragon Inn for 2 months, Jet Li has finished his all scenes on Dec 24. (The film is still in production). On the last day, he did 20 shots straight from morning to midnight, including highly demanding action. After the last shot, Jet Li watches the playback with director Tsui Hark, and chats about 3D filming. He says he hardly knew 3D at first, but has now acquired practical experiences on 3D filming, exclaiming that one could never stop learning. Tsui Hark remarks that it's a record have completed 20 scenes in one day for a 3D film. Then Jet Li bids everyone farewell, while he and the director give each other a warm hug. And the crew and cast, including Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, also throw a surprise party to celebrate Guey Lun Mei's birthday, that falls on Christmas, as midnight approaches.

Li Yuan says that doing action scenes continuously for days in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, reminds him of his days in Legend of Shaolin Kungfu TV series. He has to get up at around 5.30am in the morning as it takes over an hour's journey to arrive on the set, shoots in the daytime, and watches playback at night. Li Yuan, most famous for his role as the monk in the fantastic TV series Legend of Shaolin Kungfu trilogy as well as for playing Danny Chan's main rival in Legend of Bruce Lee TV series, first met Tsui Hark when he auditioned for a role in Seven Swords, Tsui Hark was highly appreciative of his wushu talents, and picked him, but owing to some commercial reasons, the role was given to a celebrity. Still, Tsui Hark invited him to follow him to the set, whereby Li Yuan worked as a stunt-double. Sina

Tuesday, November 2. 2010

-- Flying Swords of Dragon Gate -- Director Tsui Hark is often fond of cross-dressing the female characters in his wuxia films, and it's no exception this time in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. The director's request for the appearance of Zhou Xun's character is not merely plain male clothes, but one that must also show her unique side, and in the end, they settled on indigo out of 8 shades of blue. Zhou Xun's makeup is unglamorous yet elegant, and as the director Tsui Hark wants her to look suave and stalwart, her eyebrows are made coarser and longer, to give her a more masculine look.

Tsui Hark says, "I hope Zhou Xun will transcend her past works. Ling Yan Qiu is a very sentimental, loyal person, her love is truly beyond expectation, but she is also an insouciant swordswoman, I want Zhou Xun to dig into that stubbornness, that kind of determination, of not yielding to fate, within her."

Zhou Xun says, "There is a certain austerity and toughness that can be found on Ling Yan Qiu, even when facing love, she has an unexpected option - it's an innate strength, a primitive life force. I don't want it be contrived, but rather I hope to display it in a stoic, natural manner. My real life is like my character, walk the path I take calmly, without meddling in the the affairs of the pugilistic world." NeteaseContinue reading "Zhou Xun Cross-dresses in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate"

Saturday, May 1. 2010

True Legend marks Yuen Wo Ping's first film as a director in a decade and also puts Zhao Wen Zhuo back on the map of the film industry, even if the film is not completely a success at box office.

Tracing the ups and downs of the life of Beggar Su, from his heydays, through his downfall, to his return and creation of Drunken Fist, there are plentiful exquisitely choreographed martial arts sequences that don't stint on length, as we've come to expect from maestro Yuen Wo Ping, most notable of which is the showdown between Zhao Wen Zhuo and Andy On.

Sunday, March 7. 2010

Set in the chaotic and decadent world of the warring states during the Spring and Autumn Period, the film focuses on the turbulent later years of Confucius's life, specifically from his appointment to political office at 51 to his death at 73, and all the dramatic stories in between.

Confucius was born in the kingdom of Lu and rose to serve in its government. He skillfully engineered a peace with aggressive neighboring states and brought three dominant local clans under control. But his brilliance as a thinker and tactician was not enough to save him from being exiled by his political enemies, and he spent many years wandering and teaching a band of loyal disciples.

Saturday, January 23. 2010

With True Legend's release date drawing nearer, more and more videos and stills from the film are surfacing. The gala premiere will be held in Beijing on January 31, possibly attended by some Hollywood personages. In addition, True Legend, as well as Little Big Soldier, will get a special screening at 60th Berlin International Film Festival in February.

Friday, January 8. 2010

-- True Legend --In True Legend, Andy On takes on the role of a cold, callous, vicious, power-hungry and anaemic-looking Yuan Lie, Zhou Xun's brother, and Zhao Wen Zhuo's god-brother who sells him out. He dabbles in a very dark kungfu, and coupled with his Witch-hazel Jade Armour, which is sewn onto his body, grants him immunity against weapons and normal attacks.

However, the Witch-hazel Jade Armour, specially crafted by a makeup artist from Thailand, was very cumbersome and uncomfortable to be put on, taking 2-3 hours in makeup, and requiring touching up every now and then in between takes, and needs another 1 hour to remove.

Andy On recollects that when he did his first film, Black Mask 2, Yuen Wo Ping was the martial arts director. Yuen Wo Ping was very unsatisfied with his performance in action scenes at that time, often giving him very severe dressing-downs. Andy On says that he wasn't very sensible back then, and really hated Yuen Wo Ping, but in their second collaboration, both had grown out of it, and Andy On had also improved quite a bit.

He was pretty curious about Yuen Wo Ping's nickname as Eighth Master and asked a friend in Hong Kong, if it was because he was the eighth child. His friend told him in Cantonese, eight relates to troublesome. However, he found Yuen Wo Ping to be rather adorable on the set in True Legend.

Andy On learned much from Zhao Wen Zhuo, who gave him tips on protecting himself from injuries when shooting action scenes. And he was very impressed with Zhou Xun's acting, who was able to help him get into his character.

Tuesday, January 5. 2010

Sina has just released another trailer for Yuen Wo Ping's True Legend, starring Zhao Wen Zhuo, Zhou Xun, Andy On, Jiang Lu Xia, with cameos by Michelle Yeoh, Gordon Liu, David Carradine, Feng Xiao Gang (as a slippery pickpocket who twists words with his warped logic to get out of sticky situations when caught), etc. on. It shows more actions, but in bits and pieces.

Tuesday, December 22. 2009

A 3D montage from True Legend whereby Zhao Wen Zhuo challenges his imagined opponent in order to elevate his martial arts skill was shown for the first time at a press conference in Beijing on December 20, attended by director Yuen Wo Ping, the cast Zhou Xun, Jiang Lu Xia and Will Liu. Post-production took over 10 months in order to create the fight scenes in 3D, done painstakingly layer by layer, frame by frame by Menfond Electronic Art and over 100 digital artists. Yuen Wo Ping says that to shoot the 3D action scenes, two cameras had to be set up, and he tried to devise moves that aren't too fanciful, such that the action could be seen distinctly, for maximum 3D visual impact.

Tuesday, December 8. 2009

In this biopic of Confucius, directed by Hu Mei, starring Chow Yun Fatt, Zhou Xun, Chen Kai Li, Ren Quan, Lu Yi and Chen Jian Bin, set against the backdrop of Spring and Autumn Period, the kingdom of Eastern Zhou is close to collapse, and the land is divided by feudal lords who are waging wars against each other to be the ultimate ruler.

Confucius, for his ideals, traverses between various states, standing alone against the times, hoping to use his transcendental philosophies and wisdom to influence the various warlords and the progress of history. But like all other sages in history, Confucius' time hasn't come, he is trapped various times in the midst of a war, with no food to eat, gets embroiled in conspiracies, and has been misunderstood by the folks...